Mingyu Qiao, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Innovation and EntrepreneurshipProfessor Qiao

Office:    Advanced Technology Lab (ATL) 116C
Phone:   (860) 486-3495
Email:    mingyu.qiao@uconn.edu

My lab currently has multiple openings for motivated senior undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and visiting scholars. Students/scholars with multidisciplinary skills in chemistry, biology, and materials or strong backgrounds in chemical/biological/food/agricultural/biomedical/environmental engineering are encouraged to contact me directly through email with a resume.  

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D. 2017, in Food Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
  • M.S. 2015, in Food Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL
  • B.E. 2012, in Food Safety and Quality, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING

  • Assistant Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (January 2023 – Present)
    Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources (CAHNR), University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
  • Founder, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Science Officer (July 2018 – December 2022), Halomine Inc., Ithaca, NY
  • Postdoc Research Associate (August 2017 – Jan 2020)
    Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

    RESEARCH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTEREST

    The major research focus of Dr. Qiao’s laboratory is to utilize food- or nature-derived materials, in combination with advanced bioprocessing technologies, to create scalable and cost-effective encapsulation solutions for the protection and target delivery of bioactives (e.g., antimicrobials, antioxidants, probiotics) into food, animal and human systems. Primary application areas will focus on organic animal feed, edible food packaging, and human dietary supplements, etc. For starting, the research in Dr. Qiao’s laboratory will include the following directions:

    • Discover novel low environmental footprint processing techniques to extract bioactive compounds and biomaterials from foods and other nature-derived products including food wastes, and newly developed or underutilized nature resources.
    • Microencapsulating and controlled release techniques based solely on food- or nature-derived materials for the target delivery of bioactives, including antimicrobials, antioxidants, and probiotics.
    • Biomanufacturing of critical nutritional ingredients and bioactive products.

    These research directions are envisioned to be highly collaborative with researchers and experts across a wide range of different fields and these newly developed technologies from Dr. Qiao’s group are expected to be commercialized very soon through incubating more startup companies in each field led by motivated students and postdocs under Dr. Qiao’s guidance.

    The goal of research and commercialization efforts from Dr. Qiao’s lab is to 1) provide nutritious, safe, and affordable food and health products to the increasing number of populations with minimal impact on our environment and 2) incubate the next generation of food and biotech entrepreneurs to execute that.

      PUBLICATIONS (Selected)

      1. Zhang Y, Choi Y, Demir B, Ekbataniamiri F, Fulton M, Ma M, Schang L, Gage, L, Qiao, M. 2022. Novel chlorine-extending polymer coating with prolonged antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. Letters in Applied Microbiology. 15 August 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/lam.13804
      2. Liu Q, Zhang Y, Liu W, Wang L, Choi Y, Fulton M, Fuchs S, Shariati K, Qiao M, Bernat V, Ma M. 2021. A Broad‐Spectrum Antimicrobial and Antiviral Membrane Inactivates SARS‐CoV‐2 in Minutes. Advanced Functional Materials, 2021, 31, 2103477
      3. Yong Y, Qiao M, Chiu A, Fuchs S, Liu Q, Pardo Y, Worobo R, Liu Z, Ma M. 2019. “Conformal Hydrogel Coatings on Catheters to Reduce Biofouling”, Langmuir, 35(5):1927-1934
      4. Qiao M, Liu Q, Yong Y, Pardo Y, Worobo R, Liu Z, Jiang S, Ma M. 2018. “Scalable and Rechargeable Antimicrobial Coating for Food Safety Applications”, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry., 66, 11441. (featured on cover)
      5. Qiao M, Ren T, Huang TS, Weese J, Liu Y, Ren X, and Farag R. 2017. “N-halamine modified polyurethane with rechargeable antimicrobial function for food contact surfaces.” Royal Society of Chemistry Advances 7: 1233-1240.
      6. Qiao M and Huang TS. 2016. Potential applications of N-Halamines in food production, processing, and packaging for improving food safety. Food Safety Magazine. August/ September: 34-37.

      INVITED PRESENTATIONS (Selected)

      1. “Rapid inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces treated with N-halamine chlorine-extending polymer coating” American Chemical Society (ACS) Annual Meeting, “Surface, Interface and Coating Materials” Symposium (Virtual), Invited Speaker, Aug 22-26, 2021.
      2. “Developing high-performance, low-cost and rechargeable antimicrobial coatings for food safety applications” American Chemical Society (ACS) Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, Aug 21-24, 2019.
      3. “Conformal hydrogel coatings on catheters to reduce biofouling” NIH NIDDK Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections Technology Workshop, NIH Main Campus, Bethesda, MD, March 11-12, 2019.
      4. “How to start a deep-tech startup company at Cornell”, Cornell University Technology Entrepreneurship Club (TEC), Ithaca, NY, March 14, 2019.
      5. “Novel scalable and rechargeable antimicrobial coating for food equipment”, International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY, July 21-24, 2019.

      MEDIA FEATURE (Selected)

          1. Cornell University Chronicle: “Cornell startups get $3M from NYS to impede disease outbreak.” https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/09/cornell-startups-get-3m-nys-impede-disease-outbreak
          2. Governor Hochul Announces More than $15 Million in Awards Through the New York State Biodefense Commercialization Fund (Halomine Inc. was recommended for $2MM award).
            https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-more-15-million-awards-through-new-york-state-biodefense
          3. USA Today’s U.S. Department of Agriculture Special Edition: Transforming Technologies USDA teams up with small business to create innovation research.
            https://usatodayspecialva.newsmemory.com/?special=US+Department+of+Agriculture&date=20210318
          4. Schumer, Gillibrand Announce $600,000 To Support Halomine Inc.”s Research Efforts To Improve Food Safety And Disinfectant Process
            https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-gillibrand-announce-600000-to-support-halomine-incs-research-efforts-to-improve-food-safety-and-disinfectant-process
          5. Cornell University Chronicle: “NSF-funded antimicrobial technology targets COVID-19”
            https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/05/nsf-funded-antimicrobial-technology-targets-covid-19
          6. Cornell University Cornell Research Cover Story “A Rechargeable Antimicrobial Technology”
            https://research.cornell.edu/news-features/rechargeable-antimicrobial-technology